CONFIDENCE & COMPLIANCE

The Important Role of Schools in AEGIS Gold Standard Inspections

With the introduction of the educational guardianship requirement in the National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools and the findings of the recent IISCA report, it has never been more important for schools and guardianship organisations to work together to ensure that all international students are safe and well cared for at all times.

How can school involvement make a difference? By insisting that international students who do not have a close family member or friend in the UK appoint an AEGIS accredited guardian, schools can have confidence that the guardians are working to the highest safeguarding levels in educational guardianship. In essence, AEGIS is doing the checking and vetting of guardians so that schools do not need to undertake this.

School involvement in an AEGIS inspection gives your school the chance to comment upon the service provided by the guardianship organisation, which can help us identify outstanding service which should be recognised, as well as areas where perhaps improvements can be made.

Additionally, when a school can show that they have actively engaged in an AEGIS inspection, by way of providing a reference, completion of an online questionnaire or in attending a meeting with an AEGIS inspector upon request, a school can clearly show any school inspectorate that they are in compliance with the requirement to take appropriate steps to ensure that children are safe, that the guardianship arrangement is promoting the physical and emotional wellbeing of the child, that they ensure that any guardians appointed by the school are subject to the same safer recruitment procedures as staff, and that the care of pupils is monitored.

What are the levels of accreditation and what do they mean?

Preliminary Accreditation: The initial level of accreditation involves a scrutiny of written documentation provided by the submission of key policies and handbooks, evidence of the required training and safer recruitment processes as well as other essential documents (a full list of the required evidence can be found within the Quality Standards at Appendix A). AEGIS will work with any guardianship organisation not yet meeting requirements as far as possible, explaining where amendment is necessary in order to gain accreditation and improve practice, however accreditation is not guaranteed and some organisations do not meet the necessary requirements for AEGIS membership. Once gained this level of accreditation is valid for a period of two years.

Gold Standard Accreditation: Once preliminary accreditation is gained, a guardianship organisation has the option to apply for gold standard accreditation. This is an in-depth inspection of all the essential documentation required for the preliminary accreditation but also a detailed look at the implementation of the policies and the day-to-day running of the organisation. We ask the opinions of those who work with the guardianship organisation via online questionnaires and in-person interviews, building a 360° view of the organisation. A gold standard accredited organisation needs to show how they are meeting every requirement within the Quality Standards. Once awarded, gold standard accreditation remains in place for 4 years.

AEGIS offers the highest level of inspection & accreditation of guardianship organisations in the UK at both levels of accreditation and is independent of any other professional body.